Manipur facing threat of illegal immigration from Myanmar, ILP must : CM Biren Singh

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh Tuesday said that the state is facing the threat of large scale illegal immigration from Myanmar.

He denounced demands made by a leading Mizoram student body that ILP (inner line permit) should not be sought from those coming from that state.

Biren Singh, who was speaking to the media after launching facial recognition cameras at the state secretariat, said that in a recent incident seven Myanmarese were arrested in Imphal airport. Five of them had Adhaar cards allegedly issued from Mizoram.

Furnishing of ILP documents is a necessity as many Myanmarese who arrived with Mizoram documents have been arrested in Manipur. "ILP was provided by the Centre to protect the indigenous population," he said.

Speaking on infiltration, Biren Singh said "Illegal immigration from Myanmar to Manipur is such that we have so far detained 410 people from that country who have been staying in the state without proper documents. There is an additional 2400 of them seeking shelter in detention homes along the border areas of the state who have fled Myanmar due to the political situation in that country.

"We have reasons to believe that there must be many more of Myanmarese residing illegally in Manipur ... In the larger interests of the nation and the state and for security purposes, I appeal to the people residing in the border areas where infiltration can take place to cooperate so that details of such immigrants can be recorded," he added.

The chief minister said that the Myanmarese apprehended at the airport last month had come from Pune.

He denounced statements by Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), the influential apex students' body in Mizoram, demanding that ILP documents should not be sought from those entering Manipur from that state on the grounds that it is detrimental to the ethnic Zo people.

Biren Singh also condemned MZP for saying that it should not be held responsible for anything that happens to Manipur Meitei community residing in Mizoram. "It is unfortunate that the statement is coming from a Mizoram body. Such statements have possibilities to be converted into communal acts." The chief minister said there are plans to install facial recognition system cameras for security purposes at Imphal airport, at Jiribam, Indo-Myanmar border towns of Moreh and Behiang and Khongsang railway station to effectively counter illegal immigration.

"The technology will enable to record the entry and exit of an immigrant from the state and cameras installed on vehicles will enable to detect ILP pass holders who are staying in the state after their permissions have expired," he added. Manipur shares a porous border of almost 392 km with Myanmar.